The "A Day At The Beach" Story

Map of the island beaches.

It was an ordinary day.  Just finished our breakfast croissants and checking our emails.  Time to get ready for the beach.  Beach days were hard to come by during the first half of our vacation due to the weather, but the last week has been great for swimming, tanning and total relaxation.  There are 37 listed beaches on the island map of Sint Maarten/St. Martin and everyone who vacations there has their favorite.  The favorite for Carol and me is #21 on the chart shown here.  Located on the north-east part of the island, Orient Beach is compared to the French Riviera and is called the St. Tropez of St. Martin.  It is lined with local restaurants full of local island ambiance with a plethora of multi-colored beach chairs and tiki huts.  Water sports can be found along much of Orient Beach.  Orient Beach is most famous for it's beautiful natural setting, but also well known as being a clothing optional beach.  Club Orient, St. Martin's naturist resort, is on one end of the beach and draws people from all over the world.  Getting back to our preparations for our day at the beach, we make sure we are covered with a high number tanning lotion, pack our bag with snacks and drinks, pack the reading material and grab the beach towels and snorkel gear and we're off to the beach.  A short drive finds us a parking space and a walk of the beach gets us just the right chairs for our beach day.  Following are a few photos to give you an idea of a day at the beach for LDub and Carol.

The beach bars prepare for the day early before the beachgoers arrive.

The length of the beach looks like this photo.

Looking from the north end of the beach towards the south end.

This is from the naturist end looking north.

Andy and Cheryl's Baywatch Beach Bar and Restaurant is one of our favorites.  Andy died this past year and the restaurant is now run solely by Cheryl.  The "Mussels a la Andy" are one of our favorites.

Beach is empty at the end of another great day.

  There are so many things to enjoy about Orient Beach on the French side of St. Martin that I'm sure you would also enjoy a day at the world famous beach.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.